Attorney, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
Photo by Scott Frederick.
By Jean Hardiman.
Monté Williams felt drawn to the law early in his undergraduate experience at West Virginia University (WVU), where he focused on political science. Law school was definitely on his bucket list, but not necessarily with the goal of becoming a practicing attorney. Instead, he planned to put his knowledge of the law into his career as a West Virginia state trooper.
It was after several years of working as a trooper, though, that his path began to change, and he decided to transition from law enforcement to law practice. Today, as a member at Steptoe & Johnson PLLC in Morgantown, WV, he brings a wealth of work and life experience to leading the firm’s General Litigation Practice Group and Oil and Gas Emergency Response Team. He is also a member of the firm’s committees for diversity, recruiting and litigation training, and he serves as a mentor for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) and students at the WVU College of Law, where he received his law degree in 2003.
As a nontraditional student, the first month of law school proved to be an intimidating endeavor for the state trooper. “I was surrounded by primarily younger classmates who were extremely bright, full of confidence, seemingly more conditioned for the rigors of academia, motivated and sure about how their legal journey would end,” he says. “Once I found my proverbial sea legs, my law school experience was amazing. Despite all the challenges of law school, I loved it.”
For Williams, one of the highlights of being a law student was the day-to-day interaction with students and professors. “My professional experience as a trooper made me cynical and distrusting of people,” he says. “Interacting with my classmates, the professors and the law school staff restored my faith in people, and I’m grateful for that time and opportunity.”
As a student, Williams participated in the Lugar Trial Association and the Moot Court, both of which helped him develop his skill set. “Lugar was, and still is, a great way to develop both litigation and trial skills,” he says. “I feel the same about Moot Court. It is a great way to sharpen your appellate skills specifically, and it also gives you a chance to learn how to think on your feet. As any litigator will tell you, very rarely does an oral argument before a court go as planned.”
He also joined the Black Law Student Association (BLSA), which he describes as a beautiful oasis for minority students, particularly those not from West Virginia. “BLSA provided a sense of community and an opportunity to interact with students from diverse backgrounds,” he says. “The WVU College of Law rightly has an interest in qualified students who are diverse. Attracting those students can be a challenge for varying reasons, and, assuming we are successful in recruiting, what are those students offered in the form of support once they arrive? If they make it through law school, how can we keep them in West Virginia? It is my belief that if we can show those students a welcoming community and make them a part of that community so that they envision staying in West Virginia, we are more likely to keep them in the state.”
Williams has experienced firsthand how encouragement from others can make a world of difference. When he accepted a summer clerkship with Steptoe & Johnson after his first semester, he says the guidance and encouragement he received from his professors helped alter the direction in which he was moving.
“The fact that some of my law professors took an interest in me and in my success as a clerk was meaningful,” he says. “Their counsel provided me with a good perspective and undoubtedly made me a better clerk. When I returned to school after the clerkships ended, there were professors who invested in me. That trust was instrumental in my development as a lawyer.”
As graduation neared, Williams decided to leave the West Virginia State Police and stay with Steptoe & Johnson. His upcoming wedding was part of his motivation for that decision, and his summertime clerkship experiences contributed to his choosing that firm.
Williams never expected to find the same spirit of teamwork in a law firm setting that he had experienced as a state trooper, but his coworkers at Steptoe & Johnson proved him wrong.
“I cannot tell you why Steptoe & Johnson took a gamble on me, but I’m glad they did,” says Williams. “From the start of my career with them until today, there has always been someone within the firm willing to invest time to make me a better lawyer. And for those times when you need a soft place to land because you’ve had a rough day, there is always someone there. I can recall fumbling a matter I was working on for a senior member of the firm as an associate. After revealing the significant mistake, not only did the senior partner give me some great words of encouragement, but another member in the firm volunteered to stay late into the night to help me complete what needed to be completed. To my knowledge, no one ever kept score of that incident or used it against me. The incident never adversely impacted my career or, more importantly, adversely impacted the trust my partners put in me.”
Their selflessness made him want to work harder and show the same giving spirit to others. He does this not only as an attorney but as the co-leader of the General Litigation Practice Group, leader of the Emergency Response Team and member of the diversity and recruiting committees.
“In the General Litigation Practice Group, it is my job to identify strategies for the group based on input from the group members that fit with the firm’s overall objectives,” he says. “We listen to the needs and concerns of group members, address the needs or concerns as best we can, work with others in firm leadership positions and work to ensure the group is making a meaningful contribution to the firm’s success. For the Emergency Response Team, my job is to assemble, oversee and, if necessary, participate in coordinated emergency response efforts. Responses to client emergencies require fast thinking, quick action and sound decision-making. My state police training was good preparation.”
As a member of the firm’s recruiting and diversity committees, Williams aims to broaden diversity, find attorneys suited to the firm’s values and ensure they are knowledgeable on key issues. To strengthen its diversity efforts, Steptoe & Johnson has formed a partnership with the LCLD.
“LCLD is an organization that focuses on creating diversity in the legal profession,” he explains. “Because LCLD is a leader in this regard, and because LCLD’s mission aligns with Steptoe & Johnson’s beliefs, it was a natural partnership. Simply put, our profession is better with diverse attorneys in it.”
Williams, a West Virginia Bar Association fellow, carries his own experience with him as he mentors law students at the WVU College of Law. “All the students I’ve mentored have been ethnically diverse and from larger cities,” he says. “Typically, the College of Law is their first meaningful experience with the state of West Virginia. Frankly, West Virginia, through the eyes of a person with no prior experience with the state who may be from a metropolitan area or an area with more ethnic diversity, can be intimidating. I find that most of the students I deal with have similar questions or face similar issues, perceived or real. What I hope to bring to the table is perspective, particularly given that my experience with the state was similar to their experience.”
His experience since coming to West Virginia—where he has coached youth football, participated with Habitat for Humanity and even earned second place in a dance competition fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association—has been a positive one.
“Although I am not from West Virginia, I have lived in West Virginia longer than anywhere else,” he says. “I can honestly say that West Virginia raised me. Almost every important milestone in my life is connected to this state. The people of West Virginia have been good to me. Interestingly, I find that I can often be more protective of West Virginia than people born and raised within the state. West Virginia educated me, gave me more professional opportunities than I could have imagined and taught me how to love nature and countless other things that I may not have experienced living elsewhere. I am grateful for it all.”
